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MISSIONARY SURVEYS 


A SERIES OF PAMPHLETS DESCRIBING 
THE VARIOUS MISSION FIELDS OF THE 


AMERICAN BAPTIST FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY 
FORD BUILDING. ASHBURTON PLACE, BOSTON. MASS. 


NUMBER 3 BURMA 


THE BURMA MISSION 


1. The Country 


OUTH of Assam and Tibet, between China and 

Siam on the east, and the Bay of Bengal on the 

west lies Burma, the largest province of British 

India. It equals in area, the New England and 

Middle States, together with Ohio and Indiana, 

and has a population of more than twelve millions. The 

country is drained by three rivers, the Irawadi, the Sittang 

and the Salwin, all of which flow from north to south. All 

these rivers are alive with craft and an enormous business is 

done on them. Elephants are trained to service in the lumber 

yards and mills, and are especially useful in getting heavy logs 

out of the jungle. Other common beasts of burden are the 

ox and the buffalo. Lions, tigers, leopards, and reptiles 

abound. There are flowers of surpassing beauty and fragrance, 

and many medicinally valuable trees. Burma’s teakwood 

forests are among the finest in the world. Rice is the staple 

product, and its export constitutes a great source of revenue. 

It is an unfailing storehouse from which the starving peninsular 
people of India are fed. 


2. The People 


There are more than forty different racial divisions, but the 
short, thick-set, active Burmese comprise more than half the 
population. They are impulsive, full of fun, and much given 
to shows of all kinds. Next in number come the Shans and 
Karens. ‘These were originally hill people, but many of the 
Karens now live in the plains. The Karens are very fond of 
music, and the Shans, who live in the eastern part of Burma, 
have a peculiar aptness for trading. 


3. Religion 
Buddhism 


Six millions of the inhabitants of Burma are Buddhists. 
Pagodas crown every hill, and there are shrines and monas- 
teries in every city. Of these the greatest and most famous is 
the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon. Buddhists believe 
neither in a personal God nor in the immortality of the soul. 
Through good works and the accumulation of merit they hope 
to attain Nirvana, non-existence, in which conscious being 
and personality are wholly lost. 


Spirit Worship 


Some of the tribes, notably the Karens and the Kachins are 
spirit worshipers. By their sacrifices they seek to appease the 
evil spirits who might otherwise harm them. Karen stories 
of creation, the fall of man, and the flood are strikingly like 
the Bible stories. Their ancestors, they say, had a ‘‘ Book of 
God,’’ and they are waiting for the whiteman to bring it to 
them again. These traditions make them ready listeners to 
the gospel. 

Hinduism and Mohammedanism also have a large following 
in Burma. In Rangoon alone, it is said there are more than 
50,000 Mohammedans. 


4. Mission Work 
The first American missionary 


On Feb. 6, 1812, at Salem, Mass., five young men were 
ordained as missionaries to India under the auspices of the 
American Board (Congregationalist). One of them, Adoniram 
Judson, sailed a few days later with his wife, Ann Hasseltine. 
The following January news reached Boston that Judson, 
during the voyage, had by independent study of the New 
Testament been led to accept Baptist views, and had been 
immersed in Calcutta. In a letter to Dr. Thomas Baldwin he 
said, ‘‘Should there be formed a Baptist society for the sup- 
port of a mission in these parts, I should be ready to consider 
myself their missionary.’’ Baptists were aroused, encouraged 
and united. At Philadelphia on May 21, 1814, the Triennial 
Convention was organized which later became the American 
Baptist Foreign Mission Society. 

When Judson went to Burma, it was not a British province 
but a land of savage tribes, hostile to all foreigners. When 
trouble arose with the British, the natives cast Judson and 
Dr. Price into prison, where they suffered intensely. Only 
the ceaseless care and devotion of Mrs. Judson saved their 
lives. In spite of all afflictions the missionaries persevered 
and converts began to be received. Judson’s Burman Bible, 
completed in 1834 was so accurate that little revision has since 
been necessary. 

Among the first converts was Ko Thah Byu, a robber chief, 
and later Judson’s Karen servant. He became a remarkable 
evangelist and led many to Christ. Since then thousands of 
Karens have been gathered into the churches, and the work 
among the Karens remains today among the most successful. 

Missions are also conducted among the Shans, Chins, 
Talains, Eurasians, Telugus, and Tamils, and now the Lahus 
on the Chinese border are asking that the missionaries estab- 
lish stations in China and bring the Christian truths to them. 


Achievement 


During 104 years of mission work, marvelous changes have 
come in Burma, and social, political and religious forces at 


work today are undermining the very foundations of heathen- 
ism. A strong evangelistic spirit pervades the churches, and 
leads them constantly to reach out to regions beyond. There 
are Christian homes of two and three generations, and Chris- 
tian churches, some of which have fine buildings erected by 
native contributions. The Christian educational system goes 
from the jungle school through the theological seminary. 
Medical mission work has also been established, and along 
with education is a strong evangelizing factor. The problem 
of self support which has been successfully solved in some 
fields is being earnestly studied in all. 


There are today thirty-two Baptist stations in the Burma 
field. 


An appreciation 


Rev. Julius Smith, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, gives the following testimony to our work: 


“The greatest missionary labors in Burma have been 
wrought by American Baptists. From Adoniram Judson 
until the present generation of missionaries, there has been an 
increasing force of faithful and heroic men and women who 
have devoted their lives to the redemption of Burma. It is 
safe to say that the work of all other societies combined would 
not equal that done by the Baptists.” 


Burma Literature 


A ‘Lively Trio;with Shwe (Qt cee iM ein ie Price $ .03 
Bara sO Any, OULVEVS Celta Ville Silda tua iedenaconewin -OL 
Fitdson' Stonietees ea a Cea ee SOM Gl -I0 
Missions tn Burma ye yey Clie te i tau ara lenny slineant dan Meee tea Sony -IO 
Our Unfinished ‘Laskin Barmas ca tii y ape els Free 
Pioneering’ Among the Kachins )04)00. 2) eee -07 
Han /Crombra Pow yee ay a aN EN Bi aA ete ie a) Free 
The Arrival of Judson in Burma .......... -OL 
The First Convert'in the Chin Hills (0). gy be a .O1 
‘(he Guidet Book: alia iat cies POW itt WORD A Aly aU +25 
The'Literatures of! Burma) ee ane oN .05 


Catalog giving list of general literature on Burma free. Annual Report 
of Society free on receipt of 19 cents to cover postage. 


120-2M-5-1-1918. 


